Health Talk Today

Health Issues

Living Wills ~aka~ Advance Health Care Directives

Dec 30th, 2008
by Marilyn.
1 comment

Two years ago, my aunt was in a nursing home. She was bedridden, weakened by years of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and rheumatoid arthritis. It was the first time I heard about a living will. My aunt didn’t want to sign a living will, even though her health was failing. There were no medical procedures or medicine that could help her. She understood that, but I believe her will to live was very strong. So, for months, we continued to spend hour after hour at the nursing home with her. We fed her, made her as comfortable as possible and made sure the nurses and aides were doing all they could for her.

I just took a survey for a Twitter friend. Marijke is a nurse turned blogger. She’s looking for information that tells her how many people have living wills, who doesn’t and what may be holding back people from drawing one up.

Do you need a Living Will? It’s also known as an Advance Health Care Directive. Do you know what it is and how it works?

Click here to take the survey. It only takes a few minutes and it will help Marijke.

Click here to follow Marijke on Twitter.

When you connect with Marijke, let her know you read about her living will survey on Health Talk Today Blog.

Marilyn Kvasnok

Migraine Headache Tips

Nov 22nd, 2008
by Marilyn.
No comments yet

If you’re getting a migraine, here are 4 things you can do that may help . . .

  • Take a walk. It relieves stress and stress can contribute to a migraine.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Warm your hands in a bowl of warm water to increase the blood flow to your hands and away from dilated vessels in your head.
  • Put a cold cloth on the back of your neck to take excess blood away from your head.

Changing your diet may help to avoid a migraine in the future. Foods that may trigger a migraine include . . .

  • White sugar
  • Red meat
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Safflower and canola oils

It’s difficult to make big changes to your diet. If you find you can’t quit these foods immediately, try to keep cutting back until you rarely eat them.

In addition to taking daily vitamins, here’s a list of extra supplements that have helped others . . .

Marilyn Kvasnok

Tribute to Randy Pausch

Jul 25th, 2008
by Marilyn.
No comments yet

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
–Randy Pausch

Like most of us, I followed Randy Pausch from afar. As a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he taught all of us much more than computer sciences. He showed us how to live. Randy lived every day to the fullest.

I have a strong suspicion that his attitude was the same before he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His positive attitude permeated his life. Thanks to the Internet, we all got to share in his journey. Randy’s website is a timeline of events from his diagnosis to his passing.

I will remember Randy. He was only 47, but into his short life he crammed a lifetime of memories for his family. He may have lost his battle with cancer, but he lived with integrity and courage to the end. And he won the hearts of everyone who met him – whether in person or virtually.

ABC News Report: Randy Pausch, ‘Last Lecture’ Professor Dies

Interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer

In his book, The Last Lecture,Randy has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come. — Amazon editorial review

Marilyn Kvasnok

How to Recognize a Stroke

Jul 20th, 2008
by Marilyn.
No comments yet

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke .

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking four simple questions:

  1. Ask the individual to SMILE.
  2. Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE coherently.
    (i.e. It is sunny out today)
  3. Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
  4. Ask the person to STICK OUT HIS TONGUE.
    If the tongue is crooked, if it goes to one side, that is also an indication of a stroke.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Marilyn Kvasnok

Where There’s Smoke . . .

Jul 19th, 2008
by Marilyn.
1 comment


We used to have parties. Big parties with lots of friends, good food, drinks and music. The house would be filled with the happy sounds of people having fun – And smoking. How did we ever put up with it?

Then, a strange thing happened at one party. The ashtrays were empty! Finally, all our friends had quit smoking. Maybe the Attorney General’s warning’s had gotten to us. Maybe we just wised up. Whatever it was, it was over. That was years ago. We haven’t had an ashtray in the house since.

What a turn-around . . .
I had gotten to the point of walking out of restaurants if they allowed smoking. Even if they had a “non-smoking section.” Isn’t that like having a no-pee zone in your pool? Eventually we found the restaurants that were smoke free. And now, they all are. So, we’re able to go to any restaurant.

Sometimes, you can tell if a person smokes just by looking at them. Years of smoking ages the skin and deepens the wrinkles. And the smoke lingers in their hair and on their clothes. It probably seeps right thru their skin.

There’s lots of help for smokers who want to quit. The key is “wanting” to quit. Smoking is no longer “cool.” It’s no longer “in.” But, the addiction is the hard part to overcome.

Resources for smokers who are ready to quit . . .

Marilyn Kvasnok

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